Hearing devices are usually fit in a fitting session. During a fitting session, a hearing care professional adjusts a hearing device to the needs of a user. For example, the hearing care professional can adjust the gain of a hearing device, a mode of a hearing device, or other parameters of the hearing device during a fitting session. A first fitting session refers to the first time a hearing care professional attempts to fit a hearing device, but it may not be the first time a user has been fit for a hearing device.
The effectiveness of a fitting session can depend on the user's experience with hearing devices. For example, if a user has previously used a hearing device, he or she may be more likely to identify when a proposed fit is more or less effective. In contrast, if a user has never worn a hearing device before, he or she may be less likely to determine if a fit is comfortable because he or she is not experienced with the fitting process.
Hearing care professionals often guess an “initial fit” for a user based on a user's experience level and the hearing care professional's prior knowledge. If a hearing care professional guesses a setting that is far from a preferred setting during an initial fit, the user may experience discomfort early on, which leads to an unsatisfactory fitting. Further, an improperly fit hearing device can even cause the user to abandon hearing devices. Accordingly, there exists a need to overcome these shortcomings and improve the fitting of a hearing device fitting.